Category: 2015 Client Spotlight

It’s our favorite time again at Pro Fitness! Sharing another life changing success story with you! We are proud to announce that Suzette Nguyen has been selected as our December Client of the Month!

Suzette came to Pro Fitness in early June after deciding she was ready to make a change. “I had started with a clinic in the area for help and guidance to lose weight. I had little results which was scary and depressing.” Despite being very intimidated by a gym and reluctant to call, a friend who personal trains with Doug suggested Suzette contact Pro Fitness and schedule an appointment. “I met with Doug and it changed my life!”

Suzette didn’t have a specific goal when she started training. “I wanted to feel more energetic and I wanted to feel better about myself, inside and out. The changes have made me feel so energetic, motivated, exited, HAPPY, and most of all, PROUD OF MYSELF! I am loving the changes I made.”

Going forward, Suzette’s goals include working on her new lifestyle change. “I am a work in progress, so I would love to continue to improve my overall health and keep getting more fit.” Suzette plans to challenge herself by attending boot camp, running, and improving her overall self.

“I am so thankful every time I step foot in the door! The trainers and staff at Pro Fitness make me feel so welcome. They have encouraged me from the moment I walked in the door. The clients and Pro Fitness team make it fun to get up and come to the gym!”

From her trainer, Doug: “Suzette has done a wonderful job by staying focused on her goal and showing consistency with her efforts, both at home and at Pro Fitness. I’m very proud of her accomplishments thus far and look forward to a great year ahead.”

The start of a new month means another incredible success story to share! We are so proud to announce that James Harbaugh is our November Client of the Month!

James always felt like the fat kid in elementary and middle school. He couldn’t do a single sit up. He found Pro Fitness after his doctor told him to lose weight and exercise. “My inspiration came from the desire to not become unable to do the things I love because of my weight, and I had no idea how to change it on my own. My initial goals were simply to lose weight and learn how to exercise.”

James started training with Lisa in March at 301 pounds, and was down 50 pounds by the first week of June! He was thrilled to find out he could have a high protein diet vs high carb. James’ first attempt to walk a mile on a treadmill took 20 minutes. On November 1st he ran 10 miles at just over a 10 minute/mile pace, and on October 20th James did 100 push-ups!!

His three main goals: Lose weight…DONE! Get fit…DONE! Lower blood pressure and cholesterol…DONE! From his trainer Lisa: “James works hard, never complains, and never takes credit for all his hard work. He definitely has put in the time and keeps getting stronger every week. I am so proud of how hard he works, keeps going, and how he sticks to his diet! Way to go James!!”

James has completely changed his diet, cut carbs, and his energy level has drastically increased. Getting healthy has also rekindled his desire to hunt deer with a bow again!

Going forward, James’ goals include reducing his BMI to a healthy level and continuing to increase strength. As of early November, he has lost a total of 79 pounds! Congratulations, James!!!

October is here, so we are bringing you another great story of improvement and success. Unlike some of the other months, October we are showcasing a collegiate athlete who came to us looking to take his game to the next level – and he has done exactly that! We are proud to announce Bob LeMieux III is our October Client of the Month!

In May of 2014 Bob came to us after his first year playing baseball at St. Norbert College and wanted to improve his athletic performance in the offseason. To say he “stepped up to the plate” with Trainer Darron’s program would be an understatement – HE KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK! For his program, Bob was looking at 5 days a week of intense training that incorporated functional movements, Olympic lifts, plyometrics, explosive cardio, and strength training all while still enrolled in summer classes, summer baseball season, and a full time schedule working at LeMieux & Sons Toyota.

Over the course of both summers, Bob has been pushed to reach his potential and has established himself as a true workhorse in the weight room. Committing 5 days a week to training is no easy task, especially with everything else he had going on. But never once did he complain, make excuses, or give up – and he was able to reap the rewards of his hard work.

Each year he has set and reset new personal records on all four of the core lifts in his program: 1) Deadlifts, 2) Squats, 3) Bench Press, and 4) Hang Cleans. Just this summer he had an increase of 34%, 40%, 28%, and 27% to those lifts respectively for his 1-Rep Max (the maximum weight that can be lifted 1 successful time). With those increases he added between 50-120lbs to each lift JUST THIS SUMMER. In addition to his dramatic strength increases Bob also has knocked 3 tenths of a second off of his 60-yd dash time, giving him another advantage for the coming season. Last but not least, through improvements in his eating habits he has put on just over 15lbs of Lean Body Mass (MUSCLE!) since he first started working with Darron.

The life of a college athlete lives and dies from the countless hours spent training, practicing, going over and beyond when no eyes are on you. You need to be willing to do what others are not, you have to be committed to your purpose, and you have to do whatever it takes to keep up with the others aiming to take your spot. Without a doubt Bob has been up to the challenge and still continues to work in the early hours of the morning and late hours of the evening to be the best he possibly can be on the field, in the classroom, at work, and in his training.

You know what time it is, the end of a month brings us another unbelievable story to share with you – and September is no exception! We are so proud to announce that Joann Pechacek is our September Client of the Month!

Every great story always have an obstacle or adversity to overcome. That couldn’t be more true for Joann’s journey…

Not too long ago Joann was enjoying her regular life when in the blink of an eye, everything changed. (A little warning, it is quite an intense story). While driving home from work one morning, she was sitting in traffic when another vehicle slammed into the rear of her car. That vehicle was traveling close to 80 MPH when it collided with Joann’s car. Needless to say, her life changed dramatically that day.

From the accident Joann sustained countless injuries, including 4 which are considered fatal each by themselves. Those injuries included breaking all of her ribs on the right side of her body (over 30 fractures in them), her lungs were punctured, suffered a brain injury, had a symptom called “hangman’s fracture” of the neck, her T5 vertebrae was fractured in 2 places, and she ruptured her pulmonary artery. She spent over a month in the hospital and followed that with a year and a half of physical therapy and speech therapy.

During one point in her journey, her doctors told her that the best possible scenario is if she ends up in a nursing home being taken care of for the rest of her life. That was the best case scenario in their eyes; but she never gave up…

At the end of February Joann came to Pro Fitness looking for help. Her PT had run out and she knew that she had to keep working or her body wouldn’t fully recover. After recently moving to the area she decided to train with Darron Lattomus to improve her function and increase her quality of life. Being that she now has 2 12″ metal rods in her back, 4 titanium plated ribs, and one functioning lung her goals initially were relatively modest compared to most. But she was bound and determined to improve her cardiovascular system, better her breathing, increase strength to support her body, loosen up her back from all the surgeries, and to put on weight. Essentially she wanted her freedom back.

On her very first day she weighed 106lbs and today she is 120lbs. This summer Joann was able to kayak, hike, go for long walks, travel at will, enjoy anything and everything she wanted to and handled all of life’s curve balls. She regained the freedom she had lost from the accident. Going forward she looks to keep building muscle and improving her cardiovascular endurance. She knows it is an uphill battle, but she is up to the task…

Lastly, Joann wanted to share a few words:

“I cannot thank Darron & Pro Fitness enough for everything they have done for me. At one point I had a very poor outlook on my future but they have helped me get my life back. They were so welcoming and have become like an extended family to me. I can’t stress to you how important it is to work with such a knowledgeable trainer to recover from ANYTHING! Any person going through a tough time or has any condition – needs a trainer to make sure you are on the right recovery path. So thank you to Darron, Pro Fitness, and everyone here who makes it feel like a family. And never, ever give up.”

PS… Her original doctors from her accident recently checked in with her and told her, “It is nothing short of a miracle seeing you now and hearing of all the things you have been able to accomplish since that day…”

This month we have something special for you all! For the first time we have Co-Clients of the Month, Lee & Patty Young! We are proud this husband and wife combo as our August Client(s) of the Month!

Patty was the first of the pair to join the Pro Fitness family over 4 years ago, and not too long later Lee joined. Initially coming in to ask about corporate fitness programs, Patty quickly started making strides towards her goals. She soon found herself enjoying pushing herself in ways she never imagined before (running, jumping, boot camps, etc). On her own she was a little hesitant in regards towards her workouts and jumped at the chance to train with Cindy when she asked. Very similarly, Lee began training with Omarr when he had a conversation about what level of fitness, endurance and stamina he wanted to achieve.

Starting out the two had very specific goals for themselves and worked everyday towards them. Patty was bound and determined to return to her slimmer self and to buy regular – not plus sized – clothes again! Lee, on the other hand wanted to improve his overall fitness level without being forced into some “weird diet or do a ridiculous amount of stress inducing exercise”. Together these two have been great examples of what can be accomplished through hard work and commitment to their goals.

The pair has easily broken the century mark on pounds lost and they are close to 120lbs down! Wow.

Patty has found that training has given her a greater sense of accomplishment. Not only has it affected the two in their health & fitness, but it’s also impacted their family life in that they have a stronger common bond in both of their food choices, fitness, and training. Lee is even feeling at his best again, like he was 15 years ago!

The goals don’t stop here though, the Youngs are re-evaluating their goals and checking more off the list! In October Lee wants to successfully get the US Team through the 2015 World Fishing Championship. It will be a 72 hr Enduro and he willg have to work real hard knowing he will not going to get time for regular meals. Luckily his training with Omarr is focused on making him as prepared as possible so that he can rely on his fitness and stamina to get through that.

Lastly, Patty has a special message:

“Not only do I enjoy working with Cindy as my trainer, I also consider her to be really good friend. Her being there, and offering her support has proven very valuable to me”.

Another month, another amazing transformation and story! We are proud to announce Kim Giese as our July Client of the Month!

At 56 years old, Kim had never even been to a gym and she weighed 204lbs. She had osteoarthritis in both knees and believed that due to that, all she could do was walk. Her typical day consisted of going to work, making dinner, and then sitting on the couch to watch TV. Fast food restaurants were consistent and convenient for her; but if she was to try to lose weight she would turn to prepackaged dinners, which are very high in sodium.

With obesity being predominant in much of her family with most females weighing over 200lbs. Kim’s grandfather and father both has heart disease and died of strokes. Her grandmother and both parents also had type II diabetes – it’s safe to say that she has many motivating factors to make her transformation!

Before began a total overhaul of her lifestyle, she was experiencing numbness in her feet and swelling in her legs and ankles. On the very of type II diabetes herself, Kim decided it was TIME TO MAKE A CHANGE!

Now, Kim works out 6-7 days a week alternating between strength training and cardio with her trainer Doug here at Pro Fitness. She can deadlift 210lbs – WHICH HAPPENS TO BE MORE THAN SHE WEIGHED WHEN SHE FIRST STARTED GOING TO THE GYM!

Another big change is that Kim pays attention to everything she eats daily. She doesn’t rely on pasta or breads to fill her up and is no longer the self proclaimed sugar-aholic she once as.

So far Kim is down 80lbs, and 10 dress sizes! Also, she was the 2015 North East Wisconsin Lifestyle Change Award winner for the American Heart Association!

Kim also had a special message:

“Pro Fitness has given me my health back…and that’s priceless! Doug you have not only given me the tools I needed to lose weight and get healthy, you have also given me courage to try new things, confidence, determination and the ability to stand up for what I believe in. Most of all you’ve given me the ability to believe in myself. Thank you for all you have done for me. Now I just want to give back for all I’ve been given and hopefully inspire others to lead a healthier more active lifestyle. Thank you to everyone for all your support, guidance and friendship. It truly means a lot to me”.

It’s our favorite time of the month again; time to crown our newest Client of the Month! And let me tell you, the month of June was one of our hardest selections yet. Without further ado here is our June Client of the Month: Patrick Lenihan!

Way back in December of 2012, Patrick was going through a little rough patch and unfortunately his health was taking a bit of a toll on and some family members as well. Being concerned for his health, Pat’s Aunt Mary – a long time Pro Fitness Client – approached him and shook him out of his funk, and motivated him to make a change!

When he first started he wasn’t necessarily looking to hit a specific number on the scale or lose a certain amount of inches; what he was most focused on was to regain his mental and physical wellbeing so he wasn’t feeling down or bad every day. Since beginning his health and fitness journey with Omarr at Pro Fitness Patrick has lost a STARTLING 90LBS and regained control of his life.

Going forward he has every intention to continue with his progress and continue losing weight & inches.

In a special note Patrick wanted to thank his trainer, Omarr, for staying diligent and keeping him on track even when he wasn’t as willing to change. Lastly, he would like to thank his Aunt Mary for having the courage to confront him about his health because “it is a moment that saved & changed my life”.

It was yet again one HECK of a selection process, but we are proud to announce the May Client of the Month is Tina Parins!

Way back in June of 2014, Tina walked through the doors here at Pro Fitness in search of a change. At the time she wasn’t quite feeling like herself and decided to start working with Darron. Having a tropical vacation booked for December, she had a vision in her head of how she would look and feel and set out to make it happen. To say she accomplished those goals doesn’t serve her justice…SHE BLEW THEM OUT OF THE WATER!! In those few short months she not only became happier & healthier, but she rebuilt the confidence in herself that she deserves. Here’s a little run down of her accomplishments so far since making to decision to train with Darron:

Lost 45lbs!

Down 6 Dress Sizes!

Decreased her body-fat percent from 38%…to 19%!

Her waist alone lost 10″!

Went from being unable to run at all to regularly running 7-10 miles 2-3x a week.

Completed her first official charity race this past November.

Adopted a Paleo eating lifestyle.

Going forward she has no plans of stopping the progress, and every day makes strides towards her new ones. It is almost impossible to go a day without seeing her here rowing her heart out or showing the punching bag who is boss. But most of all she is enjoying the Olympic lifting styles Darron is introducing to her and the challenge of building full body strength. In the future she plans to keep challenging herself in all aspects of her fitness, especially now that she knows ANYTHING is possible with a little (a lot) of hard work and determination.

After a long selection process and countless deserving clients we came to the conclusion that our very first Client of the Month is Lee Kuehl.

Lee’s background story has a couple chapters and all of which deserve to be shared to fully grasp how proud we are of his accomplishments. In 2002 while at work, Lee was involved in an industrial accident when a truck fell off a lift and landed on him. From this accident his L2 & L3 vertebrae were broken, suffered a spinal injury, and became paralyzed from the knee down. He was wheelchair bound for 6 months, couldn’t walk, and eventually had his lower leg amputated.

In January of 2014, Lee began training at Pro Fitness with Omarr after a recommendation from his prosthetist, Brent Watzka C.P, who heard of us from a fellow client Mike Pierce. Initially Lee had the intentions of taking the next step with his physical therapy by beginning a fitness program with us. After just his first few workouts Lee loved the challenge presented to him by Omarr and his workouts and ceased scheduling therapy. Since then Lee has lost 25lbs, improved his total body strength, and dramatically increased his cardiovascular endurance. But most of all he has regained the ability to enjoy camping with friends and family, hiking, and biking.

Going forward Lee is proud, but still has a lot of goals to be checked off his list! Working with Omarr he plans to continue strengthening his left leg with the ultimate goal to one day be able to run.